Keep business money and household money apart: the Mobile Money method

Customers pay, suppliers get paid, the shop keeps running. And yet, at the end of the month, one question has no answer: how much did the business really earn?

In many small businesses, the answer cannot be found for a simple reason: business money and family money come in and go out through the same Mobile Money number. School fees, groceries, a supplier payment and a customer's purchase all end up in the same history.

Why mixing everything is costly

• You don't know your profit. Without separation, you cannot tell whether a day, a product or a month was profitable.
• The till empties quietly. Small personal expenses taken "for now" add up and end up missing for stock or suppliers.
• Your decisions rely on a feeling. Raising a price, hiring, buying more stock: without clear figures, you decide at random.
• You look less credible. Sooner or later, a partner, a banker or an investor will ask what the business earns.

The 4-step method

1. One number for the business only. All customer payments arrive on this number, and only business expenses leave it (stock, suppliers, transport, shop rent). Ask your operator about its offers for merchants.
2. One number for the family. Household expenses go only through this second number.
3. A fixed salary for the owner. Every month, on a set date, the business pays you an amount decided in advance, from the business number to the family number. That is the only bridge between the two.
4. A check every evening. Write down the day's income and expenses, in a notebook, a spreadsheet or management software. Five minutes are enough, and the Mobile Money history of the business number becomes your statement.

Mistakes to avoid

• "I'll just take a little and put it back tomorrow." That is exactly what blurs the accounts. If you need more, raise your salary, as a decision, not a habit.
• Giving the business number's PIN to everyone. Limit access to the people who truly need it, and change the PIN when someone leaves the team.
• Keeping the business number on your everyday phone without protection. Turn on a lock code for the phone and the app.

What about when the business grows?

When sales, stock and expenses multiply, the notebook reaches its limits. Management software brings sales, cash, stock and expenses together in one place and produces reports for you. That is the next step, once separating accounts has become a reflex.

In short

One number for the business, one for the family, a fixed salary for the owner, and a check every evening. The accounts become clear, and so do the decisions.

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